Lucie Fink Of Lucie Fink Media Inc, On The Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As a Podcaster & Lifestyle Host
…the last one is having a very collaborative spirit. In this industry, you don’t want to be competitive and compare yourself to every single other person that you see. Having a general collaborative mindset where I’m able to look at other people who have the same job as me and be happy for their successes and know that it’s not at all related to my success is really useful. Otherwise, you are going to get paralyzed by seeing what other cool things other people are doing, and you’re just going to not want to keep going…
I had the pleasure to talk with Lucie Fink. In the dynamic landscape of digital media and lifestyle content, Lucie Fink stands out as a multifaceted creator, producer, and engaging podcast host. Born and raised in Westchester County, Fink embarked on a journey that veered from a pre-med Neuroscience major at Johns Hopkins University to becoming a self-made media mogul, illustrating the power of adaptability and passion-driven career pivots.
Fink’s initial foray into the world of media was not through traditional pathways. Despite her initial pre-med track, her innate curiosity and love for storytelling led her to explore video production. This exploration quickly turned into a vocation, making her a prominent figure on Refinery29’s YouTube channel through series like “Try Living with Lucie” and “Lucie for Hire.” These series not only showcased her knack for immersive storytelling but also resonated with millions, earning her awards and nominations that include the Telly Awards for Best Web Series & Best Lifestyle Content and a Webby Award nomination in 2018.
2024 marked a significant year for Fink as she ventured into the podcasting world with “The Real Stuff with Lucie Fink,” a platform where she normalizes conversations around taboo topics such as sex, money, and mental health. The podcast became an instant hit, thanks in part to Fink’s approach of blending notable guest interviews with opportunities for listener interaction, fostering a community where vulnerabilities are shared and explored openly. Her intent to deepen the dialogue on these often-stigmatized subjects reflects her broader mission: to inspire people to embrace their humanity and the complexities of their experiences.
As the president of Lucie Fink Media, Inc., Lucie not only produces content that resonates with a wide audience but also empowers aspiring creators through digital courses, coaching, and consulting services. Her mission extends beyond entertainment, aiming to educate and inspire others to unleash their creativity and pursue their dreams.
In a media landscape where content is king, Fink’s approach to storytelling — whether through video, social media, or her podcast — stands out for its depth, authenticity, and engagement. Her ability to foster personal connections with her audience, whom she affectionately calls “The Fink Fam,” and her drive to discuss real, often taboo topics openly, positions her as a leading voice in lifestyle content and digital storytelling.
Lucie: It’s a delight to meet you too. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share the story of your childhood and how you grew up?
I grew up in Westchester, New York, with a twin sister and an older brother who’s two years older than me. My family was very creative. My dad was a New York radio DJ, known for his work on WPLJ and K-Rock. I have fond memories of going into the studio with him and recording radio spots, which sparked my love for public speaking and being in the public eye early on. My mom is an interior designer and an artist, so creativity was a big part of our upbringing. They encouraged us to explore our interests freely, which led me to develop a strong curiosity about the medical field. This curiosity went as far as having a family friend, who was a plastic surgeon, teach me how to suture pigs’ feet because I thought I wanted to be a plastic surgeon, influencing my decision to attend Johns Hopkins.
Throughout middle school and high school, I was heavily involved in the performing arts and even became the president of my high school’s drama club. Despite this passion for performance, I felt I had another calling in medicine, partly because I could handle gory medical videos and thought that might mean I should pursue a career as a doctor. My twin sister and I applied to colleges together, and us both getting into Johns Hopkins felt like a sign for me to explore the pre-med track. However, after one semester and seeing the dedication of the other pre-med students, I realized that my interest in medicine was just that — an interest. I was more passionate about making YouTube videos for the undergraduate admissions website, showcasing Baltimore and what the city has to offer to prospective students.
After graduating, the digital video world hadn’t truly boomed yet, so I ended up working behind the scenes at an ad agency. My desire to be in front of the camera persisted, and a fortunate meeting at Ogilvy & Mather led to a pivotal moment in my career. I shared my work from Johns Hopkins and a handful of my appearances on the Today Show, which caught the attention of someone who would soon become the COO of Refinery29 during their video expansion. I was given the freedom to create content for their YouTube channel, which led to significant growth from under 100,000 followers to over 2 million and established my career as a lifestyle host.
After five years at Refinery29, I felt ready to branch out on my own and focus on running my own social media channels. This shift happened around the time TikTok was becoming popular, and it has since become my largest platform. Today, I run my own media company, Lucie Fink Media, and create lifestyle content for brands I love across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and my podcast.
Yitzi: It’s amazing what you did all by yourself.
I had a lot of really nice connections. Those connections I made brought me from one step to the next. Networking was always huge, just meeting the next person who would help bring me to the next place.
Yitzi: How do you define what a lifestyle host is? How’s it different from a regular journalist or a regular YouTuber?
Well, I think it’s different from a journalist in that it’s a bit less about reporting. I like to say that my lifestyle content falls into the “edu-tainment” category. I consider it educational and entertaining. I’ve always felt I approach my content with a bit more of an elevated production lens than maybe a standard influencer or YouTuber, who might gravitate towards a lower-quality look. In fact, perhaps it’s because I grew up in the ’90s watching TV, but I always operated as if I was packing TV segments together. I was told at Refinery29 that my content was “too polished” for YouTube and that the YouTube audience likes lower-quality vlogs. So, I had to downgrade what I was doing to try to fit more into the vlog-style. But as time has gone on, I’ve just used that to my advantage and stayed true to the fact that I think, at my core, I am a producer and a content creator who really likes the art of crafting video content and telling stories. I’m not just going to put up something that’s messy or shaky, blurry, and dark.
So, in terms of what a lifestyle host is, I create all sorts of content around whatever’s happening in my life at the time. Since the very start at Refinery29 all the way to today, I’ve been through so many different life stages, from being in a relationship — I actually met my now-husband in high school — so I’ve been dating him since I started at Refinery29. But I went from being not married in my 20s, bopping around New York City, to getting engaged, getting married, having a kid, buying a house. I’ve been taking my audience on my journey through every stage of my life and really letting them in as much as my family feels comfortable.
Yitzi: That’s beautiful. Do you see yourself becoming a producer or filmmaker someday? Is that the next evolution of your career?
I’ve been telling my team that I want to be involved in content creation with brands at a higher level. Traditionally, influencers collaborate with brands to create content like Instagram stories, TikTok videos, YouTube videos, or Instagram reels. This content is usually shot on a phone and then posted on our feeds. However, I’ve expressed to my team my desire to participate in higher-quality productions. This might mean I won’t be the only one shooting, but we’ll have a professional audio and videography crew, and the content might be shared in places other than my social channels. We’ve had some fantastic partnerships recently, notably with Walmart and Poise. These projects involved incredible sets with full production teams, including hair and makeup. I got to participate as the talent in commercials, and the content was used as digital ads across various platforms, which was really exciting. Additionally, this year, I joined a creator collective called SuperBloom. This collective has traditionally been comprised of filmmakers, artists, and graphic designers but never an influencer. They invited me to be the first influencer in the group, aiming to leverage my skills in future projects, possibly directing a commercial or producing content in a behind-the-scenes role, which is quite thrilling.
Yitzi: You probably have so many interesting stories and anecdotes from all these exciting parts of your career. Maybe this is hard to boil down, but can you share one or two of the most memorable or interesting stories that have happened?
Absolutely. One of the most memorable moments for me was getting to be a recurring guest on the Today Show when I was a college student. As a college student applying to work at NBC, they kept telling me I was too young and they weren’t taking on students. I remember just casually mentioning to the HR rep that if they ever needed a teen to come on the show, I would love to talk about teen topics. I was 19 at the time. She said she’d write that down. A few months later, I got a call from her about a new segment called Parenting Today. They were bringing on parents and wanted a panel of teens to discuss teen-related topics. They asked if I could come to New York from Baltimore on the Amtrak train, they put me in a hotel overnight, and had me on the Today Show the next morning. I immediately followed up that appearance with an email to the producers with 10 more ideas of topics I could come on the show to talk about. It happened to be a really good time because NBC was covering the Olympics, and they were so busy that they didn’t have time to produce these Parenting Today segments. They took my ideas and said I could come back in two months for one segment and then three more months for another. This gave me a lot of live TV exposure, which is completely different from YouTube. It taught me how much I love live TV. My dream career would be hosting a live daily lifestyle show in a studio with a live audience. I just love that energy.
Yitzi: It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake that you made when you were first starting, and the lesson that you learned from it?
Well, it’s interesting because I’m not sure if it falls under the category of a mistake as much as it is a learning experience and a way that I’ve evolved. One of the main topics of my podcast is money. The three pillars of the podcast are sex, money, and mental health. I’ve been incredibly open and raw with my audience across all these pillars, especially regarding money. I’ve started hosting sessions on my Instagram where I ask people to send me their salaries, which I then share anonymously. I also opened up about my entire business’s revenue, how my business is structured, how I have an S corp, how I’m an employee of my own S corp, and how I pay myself a salary. I’ve been very transparent about all my streams of revenue.
Ironically, about three to four years ago, I was a guest on Fox News talking about the influencer economy. The host asked me live on air about my salary, which was a time when I hadn’t discussed this topic at all. It was such a taboo subject in my mind. I remember feeling completely blank and I just shut off; I probably looked so flushed, got bright red, and gave him a somewhat evasive answer that was like, “Well, I’ll tell you, it’s a very lucrative industry.” I didn’t want to give any numbers. I felt so uncomfortable.
Now, looking back, I’ve come to such a different place where I’m so transparent with my audience. It’s like I’ve become so comfortable in my role as a creator that I’ve evolved so much as a person. It’s funny to look back on that moment. Not that I would say it was a mistake, but I almost wish I could go back and tell my younger self that transparency is a good thing.
Yitzi: Okay, so you have so much incredible work. Can you share with our readers the exciting projects you’re working on now and what you hope to be working on in the future?
Well, I’m very excited about the podcast. It’s called The Real Stuff and lives on the Cloud10 podcast network, produced by Clamor Media. I’ve wanted to host a podcast for a long time but I kept pushing it off because I was involved in so many other projects. Finally, it felt like 2024 was the year. It’s really giving me a platform to have deeper conversations than I can have anywhere else. Perhaps my favorite part of the podcast is that the guests often include my audience callers. It’s not just influencers and celebrities coming on, but I’m sourcing amazing stories in the realms of sex, money, and mental health from people all over the world. Hearing these amazing, shocking, and crazy stories that people are comfortable sharing with me, sometimes anonymously, is very exciting.
I genuinely love this industry because every day something has changed. There’s a new interesting way that creators can work with brands, and there are interesting formats and styles of content that you can create. I love being a consumer of other people’s content in a conscious way. It fuels me. Obviously, I can get stuck in mindless scrolling patterns, but when I’m consciously consuming content, I get very inspired by others.
I just love that you can wake up every day, check your email, and you never know what amazingly cool, different opportunity is going to be in your inbox. It’s always a surprise. As I mentioned, my dream for the future would be hosting a daily lifestyle show. I’ve always dreamed of hosting content similar to an Anthony Bourdain or Dave Letterman-style, exploring human interest stories, hidden gems, and uncovering places that people haven’t seen, diving into different cultures and people.
Yitzi: Do you want to work with a network, or do you want to be on your own?
I think, once again, being a ’90s kid, I have it in my head that my dream is a TV show. But it’s fascinating how, in the media world these days, at least from my understanding, a lot of people on TV want to be digital. They strive to have a digital presence and work tirelessly to build their social media presence. Then, all the social media people want to get on TV. It seems no one’s completely happy with where they are. So, I don’t have a specific channel or platform in mind that I want it to be on. I think I’d be happy whether it was a TV network, a streaming service, or any sort of new platform. Once again, you never know what’s going to pop up and be the next big thing.
Yitzi: Let’s talk about your podcast a little bit. As you know, there are millions of podcasts, so how do you articulate how yours is unique and stands out among the others?
I think the number one differentiator is the questions I’m asking. The real reason I was inspired to start this podcast was that I’ve been a guest on tons of podcasts in the past, and almost every time, the host has asked me the same string of questions. As a creator, I’ve developed stock answers to these repeated questions. Sometimes, I find myself wondering if that’s even how I still feel or if it’s just my automatic reply. I kept asking myself where the people are who ask questions that really delve into the human experience. I’ve noticed that when I listen to podcasts, I often hear the same guests on multiple shows telling the same stories. It made me realize that everyone has these looped narratives. At the same time, I found that my favorite content to consume was actually therapy podcasts. These are the ones where the host is a trained mental health expert, bringing on people and helping them unpack their issues. While I’m well aware that I’m not a trained expert, these are the types of conversations I love having with my closest friends. I felt like these are conversations anyone would want to listen in on. It’s the most voyeuristic experience as a listener and really gives you an idea of who the person is outside of the media-trained answers they’ve planned out for you.
Yitzi: So, you’re saying what’s different about yours is that the questions are more human-centered, more like what a therapist would ask?
They definitely go deeper. I think one main thing is that some might say the questions are invasive and shocking because I’m asking people deeply personal questions about sex, money, and mental health. In the case of creators, I’m often asking them to share how much they charge for a brand deal or what the most money they’ve made from a partnership is, or how much revenue their business makes. The questions are a bit taboo. What I keep saying on the podcast is that these people don’t have to answer any question they don’t want to. I’m not trying to make them say something they don’t want to share. But what I find interesting is where people’s boundaries are and why they have those boundaries. So, if I ask them a question they don’t want to answer, they don’t have to, but they have to tell me why they’re uncomfortable answering it. I had a creator tell me she doesn’t want to share how much money she makes because she thinks it will make her audience like her less if they know how well she’s doing. To me, that’s the most fascinating info. It’s not about how much money she’s making; it’s the fact that she has a reason for not wanting to share it. I just want to get to the heart of everyone’s thought patterns with all of these pillars.
Yitzi: Is there a common denominator between themes like money, sex, and mental health? What’s the connection? It feels like each one could be its own podcast.
Yeah, I think I came to that conclusion, the three pillars, because I knew I wanted the podcast to be about taboo topics. To me, those three topics — of course, there are other taboo topics like religion and politics — but to me, these are the ones that fit best in the lifestyle creator space. I think they are universally the topics that everyone is thinking about all day but not discussing, even with their best friends.
Yitzi: That’s fascinating. It’s a very profound insight that these are things we always think about but are too taboo to discuss. The overarching theme of these three is taboo, common things.
My goal is that when my audience listens, they will hear — and by the way, I’ve already received this feedback, so it’s working — but my goal is that as people hear the questions I’m asking, they kind of cringe at, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe she went there and asked that question.” And now, let’s see how this person reacts.
Yitzi: That’s fascinating. As an interviewer myself, one of my filters is that I want people to be open to coming on in the future, so I try not to be too mean, so to speak. How do you overcome that fear?
I make it clear to them upfront that they can reject any question. I also give them the option to retract anything they say during the recording that they don’t want in the podcast. I always respect that and ensure it’s not included. Aside from that, I’m just learning as I go.
Yitzi: So, moving forward, do you want to focus on being a lifestyle host or do you want to focus on being a podcaster?
I think the general direction I’m trying to go in right now is sort of rebranding myself, not necessarily as a podcast host, but as a creator who is talking about real things. I think for the longest time, my content was very light-hearted. Especially at Refinery29, my videos were very playful — lifestyle challenges, running around trying five days of eating pizza every day for every meal. And I got a lot of followers that way. But as I’m aging and as I’m in this totally different stage of life, I’m more interested in people coming to my platforms for real stories, real things, talking about real topics, and having authentic conversations in a more elevated way.
Yitzi: So, you’ve been blessed with a lot of success. Now, looking back to when you started, can you think of five things you need to create a highly successful career as a lifestyle host, content creator, and media tycoon?
- I’ve got to say, the number one thing is a thick skin. To put it another way, a real desire to be on camera and loving what you’re doing so much that you would rather do it even with all the negative stuff that comes than not do it.
- Secondly, consistency is key. Just not stopping, even when it’s taking a long time for you to get seen or for anyone to even discover anything you’ve ever shared. You’ve got to keep posting every day or every week for years sometimes.
- To have success on the business side of this world, there needs to be some entrepreneurial savvy. I’ve always talked very openly with my audience about how I was always a side-hustle person. So even when I was at Ogilvy and I wasn’t on camera, I had discovered how to make these little stop-motion animation movies. I was posting them on Instagram and started a little side hustle business of making stop-motion movies for brands and creating 15-second digital ads for them. Having some drive to monetize, especially in the digital media world, is crucial. There are so many creators with 4 or 5-figure following bringing in over seven figures. It’s really about your entrepreneurial mindset and how you value yourself.
- I would say another skill that has really helped me is comfort on camera, and that’s something I’ve just always felt. I always wanted to be in home movies and was filming myself around the house. If you’re not comfortable on camera, you can obviously do training and get better, and I’ve seen people majorly improve. But that comfort is crucial, especially if you’re showing up all day every day filming your life. You have to be comfortable; otherwise, you will be miserable at this job.
- And the last one is having a very collaborative spirit. In this industry, you don’t want to be competitive and compare yourself to every single other person that you see. Having a general collaborative mindset where I’m able to look at other people who have the same job as me and be happy for their successes and know that it’s not at all related to my success is really useful. Otherwise, you are going to get paralyzed by seeing what other cool things other people are doing, and you’re just going to not want to keep going.
Yitzi: This is our aspirational question. Lucie, because of the great work you’re doing and the platform you’ve created, you’re a person of enormous influence, and people take your words very seriously. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be?
I know the answer to this one right away because it’s been my mantra and my tagline for the past year or so, and it’s “Curiosity is the cure.” It’s even in my Instagram bio. What I mean by that is I believe, from the bottom of my heart and soul, that no matter what you’re going through or struggling with — whether it’s a mental health issue, a physical health issue, or something personal that’s bringing you down — the only way out is through being curious and following where that curiosity leads. For instance, with physical health issues, I’ve had many random ailments pop up, and the only way I’ve solved them is by curiously exploring and experimenting with my body, trying different changes and lifestyle adjustments to see what works for me. It’s led me to a place where I feel good. With work, whenever I’m interested in something and I feel a spark of curiosity, I allow myself to explore and experiment with new art forms and just see where it leads. Sometimes it leads nowhere, but other times, it starts me off on a whole new career path. I even gave a TEDx talk about the power of trying new things. The crux of that talk is to encourage people not only to say yes when presented with a new opportunity but to actively seek out new experiences and continue to be curious and push themselves. Every milestone in my career and every new level I’ve climbed to has a story around it of me having a little thing I was interested in and deciding to explore it, even when I didn’t know what I was doing.
Yitzi: Amazing, beautiful answer. Thank you. How can our readers continue to follow your work, and how can they purchase anything you’re offering? How can they support you in any way?
They can support me on social media across my platforms. My handle is @LucieBFink, and that’s on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The podcast is called “The Real Stuff,” and it’s available on Spotify, Apple, on YouTube, or wherever they get their podcasts. At the moment, I do have a few digital offerings.
One offering that I have is my Motherhood Super Guide. It’s been a really successful digital product for me. It’s an interactive digital download that takes people to a landing page with live links to every product I’ve ever mentioned and used from my preconception journey through pregnancy, postpartum, the baby phase, and more. It includes links to every resource that was useful to me, every book I read, every podcast I listened to, every video I watched, from the pumping and nursing to all the postpartum products, all the resources that have been useful to me. It’s a guide that I wish someone had made for me when I was trying to conceive or was pregnant because it just has everything you could ever need. It’s for anyone who’s currently pregnant, has a newborn, or anyone who, within the next few years, is going to start trying to get their body ready for conception.
Yitzi: I want to thank you so much for your time. I learned a tremendous amount, and I’m so glad. It was really nice to meet you. It’s truly a pleasure. I hope we can find a way to collaborate in the future. I hope we can do this again next year when you have an exciting project.
Thank you. You too. Thank you so much for your time.
Lucie Fink Of Lucie Fink Media Inc, On The Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.